Union Township Police shoot and kill black bear near high school

View full sizeLexi D. BarrettA black bear was spotted in Union Township, Union County, Monday. It was shot and killed by police when it wandered too close to the township's high school.

UNION TOWNSHIP — Police shot and killed a small black bear that was wandering around this Union County town today, authorities said.

The bear was first spotted around 6 a.m., according to Daniel Zieser, the township police director. Officers tracked the bear on its expedition through Union, which is bordered by urban Elizabeth and Irvington, as well as more suburban communities, like Springfield, where there had been a bear sighting recently.

The bear was spotted in Hollywood Memorial Park, Biertuempfel Park and at the Lincoln Technical School. It also came dangerously close to the township’s high school and two grade schools, at one point venturing within two blocks of the high school, Zieser said.

“We did have kids walking around,” he said.

Police called the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Fish and Wildlife division, but conservation officers were unable to leave the scene of another bear sighting in Metuchen, the director said. When officers were unable to force the bear up a tree to by time, the decision was made to put the animal down.

“That was the last resort, but we knew the half day of school was coming up. The kids were getting out,” Zieser said.

The bear weighed between 100 and 125 pounds and was about a year old. DEP officers responded later to remove the carcass.

Bear sightings, while not uncommon in more rural areas, are quite unusual in Union Township. Zieser said the former police chief told him the last sighting was about 25 years ago.